SYMETRA NEWSROOM
Symetra Names Morgan State University National HBCU Partner
Symetra funding to provide scholarships and wraparound support to 25 Black students by 2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. — (Jun. 07, 2022) — With college graduation season in full swing, Symetra today announced a new national partnership with Morgan State University (MSU), among the nation's most diverse Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Symetra will provide multiyear, wraparound support for 25 MSU scholars by 2025, funding tuition and barrier reduction for students enrolled in the Actuarial Science program. The Symetra scholarship program is part of an initiative to promote diversity in opportunities and outcomes for students pursuing a post-secondary degree by partnering with HBCUs.
“Symetra is proud to partner with Morgan State University on a new scholarship program designed to recognize and empower excellence by supporting higher-education and professional opportunities for Black students,” said Sharmila Swenson, vice president, Public Affairs and Social Impact. “Symetra’s vision is to ‘create a world where more people have access to financial freedom.’ One way we can support that vision is to address the social and economic inequalities minority and underserved students often face by reducing opportunity barriers like lack of tuition and promoting a diverse workforce, particularly in STEM fields.”
The Symetra scholarship program provides each student recipient with two types of funding over four years: direct support and wraparound services. Direct support is given through scholarships for tuition and books, while wraparound services offer financial support to meet critical student needs such as housing, food, clothing, transportation, or other emergency funding that might be a barrier to degree completion.
“The need for professional actuaries in our country has never been greater and Morgan has been effectively doing its part to meet that need by producing qualified graduates in this growing field,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan. “Morgan’s actuarial program—the only offered by an HBCU—is a rigorous program requiring a great amount of focus and commitment from our students. Support from partners, like Symetra, provide invaluable assistance preparing our students with the necessary leadership skills to be competitive in the insurance and finance industry. Through this partnership, Morgan students in our actuarial program will have the resources to persevere and matriculate without disruption or distraction.”
Symetra Social Impact
Prioritizing education and scholarship for underserved student populations with a focus on women and BIPOC communities is part of the core commitments of Symetra’s recently launched corporate social responsibility initiative, Symetra Social Impact. Over the next three years, the program aims to drive transformation across three priority areas — social commitments, sustainability and governance — through eight goals aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to its Morgan State University partnership and scholarship funding, Symetra’s social commitments goals through 2025 include:
- Creating a community financial literacy program as part of the company’s commitment to help empower underserved populations.
- Achieving 65 percent employee participation in community programs via sustainability programming, volunteerism and giving.
About Morgan
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
About Symetra
Symetra Financial Corporation is a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent financial professionals and insurance producers.
Contact(s):
Media Relations:
Diana McSweeney
(425) 256-6167
diana.mcsweeney@symetra.com